The Story of the Tyrant
by 100stars
Summary: People never instantly 'snap.' The insane never shatter with only one blow. He didn't break because of one thing. He broke because of a sorrow that would have killed lesser beings. This is the story of a tyrant. This is the Story of Magnus.
1. Chapter 1: The Day the World Ended

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for Ella and Traian, and they are extensions of cannon characters so I might not even own them.

* * *

As with all legends, a boy lived, once upon a time, on the border of two great civilizations. One was that of the Nova, a proud race with the wings, horns, and tail of the dragons of old. The Nova were highly religious, and were lead by their clergy, with the High Priestess leading the people in all matters civilian. Their shielded citiy domes glittered brightly, and their capital city, Heliseum, was their pride and glory. The other civilization was the High-Rep race, a mysterious people who guarded their secrets jealously and made sure that the workings of their society were largely unknown to outsiders. What little left their borders were whispers of a glittering utopian society run by a monarchy and held up by the vast population of mages who toiled endlessly.

There was a third race, not so grand as either the Nova or the High-Rep. Subjugated by the other races long ago, they were saddled with the ignoble name of Wooden-Rep and were largely treated as second-class citizens by the rest of the world. People can only take so much until something breaks and the most savage of characteristics clamor to the surface. The Wooden-Rep race shuddered and broke, screaming at the world and war broke out between the High-Rep and the Wooden-Rep. This is where our story begins.

XXX

A little boy was sweeping the very small living room, humming cheerfully. He was seven years old, small for his age and so had some trouble with the heavy broom, which was almost twice his height. Often dust and soot settled on his head and body, so jet black hair became matted and lined with grey. Dark purple wings furled and unfurled gently and his small, thin grey tail brushed back and forth. The little boy was a clever one, and often tied brushes to his tail so he could sweep with a broom and tail at the same time.

After finishing near the door way, he swung the broom over his brown clothed shoulder with a practiced ease and shuffled down the narrow hallway to the equally small bedrooms. There were three of them, one next to the other. The first one was his, which he quickly swept as it was no bigger than the cupboard beneath the stairs. The next one was his mother's and he swept it very carefully.

His mother was a beautiful person, a tall slender woman in her mid-thirties who always had a bright smile on her face, even after his father had left them so many years ago. With long black hair that curved gently around her waist, she cut a graceful figure and was well loved by both her son and the nearby village where she bought her groceries.

The little boy was always aware of her hardships and did as many chores as possible around the house. In the beginning he couldn't do very much. Being rather small for his age, he could do very little at first, but as time went on he became more and more creative. His mother said nothing to him, and just smiled.

He hated when she smiled like that. She thought he never saw it but he did. Every now and then she would slip and he could see her drawing further and further inside herself.

He moved around the room, which was slightly larger than his but equally plain, and dusted what little furniture there was. Carefully avoiding his mother's music box, he quietly finished and walked over to the final room.

In all rights, he really should have left it alone. His father was a terrible person who left the day he was born. It left his mother empty and when news of his death came drifting back to the two of them, she completely fell to pieces. When she wasn't cleaning or cooking, the little boy often found her sitting on the floor next to the windowsill humming quietly to herself.

He quickly swept up the room, only diligently sweeping the area that he knew his mother would be moving through before leaving as soon as he could. He didn't want to look at the pictures of the monster, the one that looked so much like him.

After putting away the worn broom, the creaking of wooden boards told him one thing. "Mom!"

The door swung open slowly and quietly and she walked inside, one hand clasping a wooden basket, the other hanging limply by her side.

The little boy ran up to her and hugged her, only coming up to her knees. She smiled. "Good morning Magnus."

Magnus smiled brightly at his mom, gold eyes glittering. She giggled. "Magnus, exactly what is on your tail?"

The young Nova blinked and looked back. Whoops. "I was sweeping and thought it would be faster with more brushes and thought it would be faster with more brushes and sorta forgot to take them off."

His mother smiled, "That was very clever of you Magnus, but did you really have to use the hair brush?"

Magnus said nothing.

XXX

They went out to a nearby meadow that afternoon for dinner. His mother had been feeling whimsical that day and said that she felt like going out. Magnus had burst out into cheers and grabbed both his jacket and his mother's before nearly dragging his mother in his haste to get to the spot.

The spot was a meadow covered on lavenders, his mother's favorite flower that he had to admit, did smell pretty nice. Not that he would ever admit it out loud.

"Magnus."

He looked at his mom who had a mischievous smile on her face for a spilt second before she pounced and Magnus found himself laughing uncontrollably. And for for a moment, he could pretend that there was nothing wrong.

The next day, the village buzzed with the news. It was on everyone's minds and a whisper spread through the world. _War._

XXX

Magnus raced home from school that day. "Mom, mom!" He burst through the door, the news on the tip of his tongue. "Mom, did you hear, there's going to be-" the house was empty.

"Mom?"

He walked through the house, room by room. The living room was empty, the kitchen was bare of his mother and food. She wasn't in his room or his father's. When he looked into his mother's room he smiled a bit. The music box is still there, so she has to come back. That's what he thought.

_He was wrong._

XXX

Magnus woke up to a strange smell, a horrible choking smell. Smoke snaked it's way into the small cabin, and Magnus coughed harshly, finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. He struggled to open his window, and as soon as he did, more smoke came in. Running out the door, he ran for the trees and climbed up them, hoping for better air. As soon as he made it up to the tree he stopped. The smoke was coming from the meadow!

Gliding as fast as he could, he flew towards the meadow and dropped down in the center, the spot where he and his mother had dinner the day before. The lavenders were gone, burned black and turned into dust. He looked around desperately, hoping that something survived the devastation. He smiled when he saw the outline of a lavender, one that survived what must have been a great inferno. As he reached out to gently pluck it, the minute his fingers curled around the stem, it crumbled and turned to dust.

He knelt there for some time, desperately trying to keep calm. He failed.

His tears dropped, completely unacknowledged.

XXX

The little boy ran towards the village,he had to warn someone, do something! But as the village came into view, he slowed down, his eyes widening. _No, no..._

The short thatch-roofed houses were burning, red fire leaping, roiling, dancing with a maniacal glee.

Soldiers were running around, the red glare of the fires illuminating their brown tunics. Neon face paint gleamed as the stormed the village Magnus had once called home. He watched with a growing sense of horror as a strange red liquid seeped out underneath the doors.

_I'm too late._

XXX

The day after war was declared, Magnus watched as the village burned down, and stared at the meadow where he and his mom spent so much time at until it was gone.

He left the area. There was nothing left for him but ashes. He took the music box, whatever food was left, and his clothes before leaving everything he knew behind.

XXX

War is a terrible thing, and it displaces many each and every time. This time was no different and Magnus was not the only one who lost it all. No so far away, in the village that Magnus and his mother frequented, was a boy named Traian. His story was very similar.

XXX

Traian was a strange boy. Tall for his age, and very, very, stern. The nine year old had a frown eternally affixed to his face, and like any other Nova he had a tail, wings, and two horns poking out of his hair. He was the mayor's son and had long known that he was being groomed for the position. While he was content to be that, something felt off, something that screamed at the thought of being cooped up behind a desk for the rest of his years. So when his father rambled about raising the finest mayor the village would ever see, he said nothing and merely watched. His father was wrong. The village burned the next day, both he and mother died, and Traian watched silently, sullenly. That was the day he met Magnus.

XXX

Traian hadn't really talked to the boy before. With his ashen, almost grey skin, large smile that nearly looked deranged at a certain angle and yellow eyes that could easily be likened to a demon, the boy was a social pariah. Only he didn't know it. Magnus was a strange one, laughing and having fun as if nothing was happening, as if he didn't hear the black whispers the children of the village spread as soon as he turned his back.

He was the son of a witch, everyone knew that. His mother was tolerated to a point for some reason that no one talked about. But he knew, he knew everything. That's why he was not pleased when he found out that the only other survivor was Magnus. Not pleased at all.

"Oh it's you."

"Good to see you again, Stiffs."

XXX

Two boys alone in the world would not get very far indeed. Which is why a third young one from a nearby village was lead to the both of them. This is also her story.

XXX

Tina was cheerful, happy, and positively normal. She the average girl, living the average life, in an average settlement on the northern most border of Nova territory. Which is why it is very lucky that the third child is not Tina. No, the third child was an extraordinary child by the name of Ella, whose greatest gift was her sense of courage in the face of the unknown.

Ella never listened to her parents. She always ran her own path, always burning a new trail in the chronicles of time, or so she liked to believe. She had no special powers to speak of, she wasn't magical nor did she have immense strength like her peers. She was strictly normal. But that didn't stop her.

She would run everywhere, she would hop through the trees dreaming about being a ninja. Sometimes she would be an expert swordsman like her dad was, lunging and swinging her mighty sword this way and that, whacking the enemy into the air! Of course her sword was a stick and the enemy was also a stick but details are never important. And still other times she would launch herself off of cliffs only to unfurl her wings at the last minute. This was dangerous, Nova wings were only for gliding until they grew their prime. Then they stopped most of their aging and could use their wings to fly.

Like that stopped Ella.

Today was something new, she wasn't going to be a ninja, or a swordsman, or a Nova that could fly. She was going to be something special today. She was going to be a sailor!

She had never seen an ocean before, and still couldn't imagine a body of water so big that you couldn't see the other side, even after learning about it in school. the biggest water body was a nearby lake that, while still very large, could still be crossed in a boat in a few minutes or so. So when she heard about people who worked most of their lives over such a vast blue sea, she was enthralled.

Then they came from the seas. Tall looming blotches of black, as if someone and taken lumps of coal and painted on multicolored lines to make them look pretty. They were pretty. They were horrible, and Ella, brave little Ella, hid behind her boulder and watched as they lumbered from the bay onto the shores. And burned her home down.

She couldn't sleep that night. Nor any night after that. She only slept when she stumbled upon two boys her age sleeping around a fire pit.

It was the best sleep she had in a while.

XXX

Trainan stirred, the morning sun being far too bright and cheerful for the boy's tastes. The witch boy was sleeping on the other side, back facing him so he could not see his face. The witch boy was waking up as well, slowly picking himself up. But he wasn't worried about Magnus right now.

"Who the heck are you?"

Trainan rolled his eyes. Trust the witch boy to have no sense of tact whatsoever. The girl was young, around the witch boy's age and was a Nova like them. Her bright blue hair cut in the bowl shape that came standard among their kind bothered him slightly. Blue hair? Who has blue hair these days? The thing worse would be if it was pink. No Nova warrior has pink hair!

"Hi!" The girl cheerfully said.

Picking up the stick next to her, she swung it onto her shoulder and stuck out a hand. "My name is Ella, nice ta meet ya!"

* * *

A note from the author: My first story on my new retconned account, and I think it turned out quite nicely. To the people who have read this from reading my other stories, I have to thank you for being willing to check this out, I'm hoping that this will turn out into something new and refreshing. I will not be reuploading my old stories as they were really...bad since my 5th grade self was a total fangirl. I will not be going into the Sonic franchise again, though I may write a few oneshots here and there if I feel whimsical enough. This story is currently unbetaed, and I would be grateful if you leave a few reviews on how to inprove this, however flames will be decisively ignored. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: The Second Blaze

A/N: And done. Sorry about the long wait. I had a draft of this done months ago, but then my hard drive crashed, and I lost all of my files (Including this one story with over 354k words!) I really was depressed over this so I quit writing for a bit. But now I'm back, sorta. So read and review, tell me if you liked it or not.

* * *

The boys both stared at the girl, whose grin was slowly slipping and taking on a more nervous edge. Then Magnus grinned toothily. "She's got guts! I like her already!"

"_She's_ right in front of you, you know. Don't talk about me like I'm not here!"

Traian frowned slightly. "Who are you anyways? How'd you find us?"

Ella rolled her eyes, "I'm Ella, duh. Didn't I just say that? I actually didn't find you per say, I sorta stumbled upon you guys while you were sleeping."

Traian twitched, "Knew we should have set up a guard rotation."

"Right~ of course you did Stiffs. Just like how you knew not to use that damp wood that you got after we set up the fire."

"Shut it! Either way we're getting off topic. Why were you here in the woods here alone? Aren't your..parents worried about you?"

Ella looked down and shuffled a bit. "You see...my village was burned down a couple of days ago. There's nothing left."

Traian said nothing. Magnus elbowed him hard.

"...sorry."

Ella shook her head, "Nah, you've got nothing to be sorry about. What's done is done. All I'm looking at is the future."

"Why don't we band together than?"

Both Traian and Ella looked at the last boy, one with a neutral look that did nothing to hide the irritation in his eyes, and the other with a hopeful gaze. "Why don't we all band together? That way we can pool what we know to better survive."

"And if I want to go my own way?" Traian asked.

"Get real Stiffs. You know nothing about surviving on your own if the incident with the wood was any indication. I'll give you a week before you die because of wild animals or you ate something poisonous. So what do you say, us? or the dinorams?"

Traian was silent for a while before, "I'm just surprised that you know words as big as incident and indication."

"Bite me." Magnus turned towards Ella. "You in?"

Ella beamed, "Did you really need to ask?"

Magnus grinned widely and swung his arm around the other two. "Awesome! Hey, since we're going to be a team from now on, we should have a name! I vote Nova Three."

"No."

"Shining Trio?"

"No."

"Stiffs and Company?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"How bout the Grandis Defenders?"

"N-"

"I like it."

"Ha! Majority rules, Grandis Defenders it is!"

"..."

XXX

They didn't leave the forest immediately. Magnus had proven himself to be the wilderness survival expert and set to work salvaging edibles. Ella was tasked with gathering wood as Traian proved to be terrible at the job. Traian himself had found a nearby stream and volunteered to be the one to bring water to the campsite, after he had made a makeshift bucket with Ella. Both Traian and Magnus were very familiar with the forest, and Ella had liked the climate, so it was agreed that they would stay in the woods indefinitely.

Ella wasn't sure exactly when it started, but one day she noticed that some of the wood she had gathered was missing. At first she thought nothing of it, it was likely taken by a stray speedyor just like the last time. But then more and more wood disappeared until nearly three fourths of what she gathered everyday was gone.

"What's going on?"

Ella jumped, "Traian! When did you get here?"

"I was here a while ago." The older boy looked at her, "Is everything alright? You've been staring at that pile of wood for hours now."

"It's nothing...it's just that most of the wood I've been collecting have been going missing. Too much of it's gone to be a speedyor again."

Traian frowned. "Now that you've mentioned it, something's been taking my buckets. I had to make a new one again today and this is the fifth time this week."

Then Ella pointed, "Hey you, stop!"

Traian whipped around, and saw his bucket disappearing behind a tree. "Hey! That's my bucket! Get back here!"

The two Nova ran after the thief, jumping, running, and dodging around the tree roots. When the thief was close enough, Traian tackled him. "Gotcha!"

The thief struggled a bit but stopped as the dust cleared. Traian and Ella stared. "Magnus?"

The person in question sheepishly smiled. "eheh, surprise?"

"What's the meaning of this?" Traian snatched back his bucket. "How come you've been stealing my buckets?"

"And are you the one stealing my wood?"

"No, no I'm not, really!" Ella held up her hand. "Ok, ok! I have been stealing the stuff, but only cuz I needed the materials to work on something!"

"What something?"

"That something!"

Magnus pointed upwards into the canopy, and the other two looked up.

Among the trees, there was a small wooden hut boarded together haphazardly. Ella saw the wood she collected had been tied together into walls, while Traian noted the bucket hanging off the side of the platform the hut stood on.

"I've been working on this for a while." Magnus said, "I was kinda hoping you wouldn't notice until it was completely done, but I guess now is as good a time as any."

"What exactly is this?" Ella wondered outloud.

"Here let me show you!" Magnus' cheerful smile was back in place as he clambered up the rope ladder with a practiced ease. "Check it out! I made this house big enough for the three of us. There's your bed Stiffs, there's mine, and on the other side of the house is yours Ella. I figured you would have a separate part of the hut instead of being next to us boys while you sleep."

"What's with the roof?" Traian asked.

"Oh, I made the roof slope inwards so that when it rains, the water will run towards that water container I made. If the water container runs out then we can get water from this bucket over here-" Magnus walked out on to the makeshift platform and pointed at a wood and straw pulley, "-since there's a pond straight below us." The boy turned around. "So what'd you think?"

"THIS IS SO COOL!"

Traian looked around and slowly smiled. "Not bad for a witchboy."

XXX

Good times never last. For a while, the three orphans happily lead a simple existence in the woods.

Then Traian woke to the smell of smoke.

The forest was burning. Familiar greenery was brown and a roaring blaze leap and raged. Traian jumped as fire danced outside his window.

"MAGNUS, ELLA! WAKE UP!"

Magnus woke up with a start, Ella more slowly. "What's going on?"

"Fire!"

That woke them both up. "What? How?"

"Does that matter? What are we going to do? We're surrounded!"

The walls were starting to give way, burnt by the flames. "Use your head Stiffs! Magnus shouted, "If it's not left or right, then look UP!"

The boy ran to the container and jumped onto the roof through the hole. Ella and Traian followed, chased by the incoming fire.

"And what now genius? All we've done is escaped burning to crisp inside to burn outside!"

Magnus pointed at his back, "Are you a Nova or not?"

"But our wings aren't big enough to fly yet!" Ella screamed.

"But they can glide and that's our best bet," Magnus shot back with a smile that threatened to slip entirely, "So hurry up and jump!"

Black wings unfurling quickly, the boy jumped before either of his friends could say anything.

"That crazy-" a falling branch fell close, too close, behind them and both of them instinctively jumped. Not a moment too soon as the weight of the falling branch broke the platform their house was built on and the place they had called home for a year was destroyed.

They stretched their wings as far as they could, but they were approaching the ground far too quickly. Magnus watched as he slowly glided closer and closer to the burning ground when he felt something different. Somehow the fires had made a howling updraft and while it was a rough ride that nearly knocked him unconscious, it gave him and the others enough lift to safely land on the outskirts of the forest.

All three of them could hear their house, their old life, tumbling to the ground. Tears formed in Magnus' eyes, despite how hard he tried to smile. He didn't look back, none of them did.

XXX

* * *

This was a kinda slow chapter, and I'm thinking it will be a little slow next chapter, but hey. Next chapter we'll be meeting Fennelle and the Pantheon cast, as well as a young Cartelion. Hopefully I'll get this done sooner than later, but with Xenon and Demon Avenger out...


	3. Chapter 3: Enter the Crew

A/N: I do not own anything.

Also as clarification, a helpful reviewer (thank you Bombing) noted that Traian and Ella are indeed not cannon npcs. They are however extensions of in game characters as Traian is...well that's a spoiler, and Ella is...well that's a spoiler too. Regardless, while the names are not real the characters technically are younger versions of in game characters much like Magnus is a younger version of...Magnus.

* * *

Magnus woke up with a start. "Where...Where are we?" The Nova boy sat up, looking blearily looking around.

After leaving the forests, the trio had followed the small stream that had ran next their house. None of them wanted to rest that night, not with the nightmares and dredged up memories lingering behind closed eyelids. But sleep would not be denied forever, and they fell asleep an hour after the stream turned into a wide river.

Ella had collapsed first. They had stopped for a drink when Ella, with a blank look in her eyes, curled up next to a tree by the side of water. Magnus had shrugged and followed soon shortly after.

He trudged over to the river, peering listlessly at his own reflection. His eyes were dull and glassy, hair smudged with dirt and dust. Magnus could hardly recognize himself.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, staring at his reflection. All he knew was that he was brought back to reality by the rattling of wooden wheels.

XXX

"Traian...Traian...TRAIAN, WAKE UP!"

Said person jumped up, eyes popping open. "What, are we under attack?"

"We might just be!"

Jeering calls are heard and then Traian finally notices the wagons surrounding them.

"Well well." They boys hear them before they see them, "What are children like you doing on these plains? Don't you know that this place can be dangerous at night?"

"Who are you?" Traian demanded.

A person hops out of one the wagons. He was nothing like the boys had seen before, no wings, no tail, no horns. Not Nova. But he wasn't like the High and Low Flora traders that had come into the village from time to time. Dressed in a gaudy purple and gold trimmed cloth with a turban on his head, he swept out an arm. "I'm surprised you have never heard of me! I am the fantastic, the one and only Janero, Shadow Merchant King!" then winking at the two boys, "and these are my apprentices! Introduce yourselves kids!

Four heads peaked out of the wagon, "I'm Tonero!" "I'm Romero!" "I"m Gallero!" "and this is Mayala!"

The two boys stared at the baby girl that had been shoved in their face. "That's...nice. So...erm...why are you here again?"

Janero frowned. "Didn't I ask you that question? In any case, this is our usual path, do you not see the lovely dirt road that is so prominent here?"

Fact of the matter, none of them had noticed, but they pretended they did in any case.

"In any case," Janero continued, "Why don't you children come with me? These plains are no place for children such as you."

"Where are you going?" Magnus asked.

Janero pointed down the road, "To Helisium, capital of the Nova, your race is it not?"

Helisium. Traian had only heard stories of the place. How the grand shield dome covered the people, glittering proudly with a unspoken promise of safety. Of white marble, marvels of architecture. Helisium was described by his parents to be a sort of paradise, as close to paradise as one could be without living in Iona's sanctuary.

He looked at Magnus and both boys nodded. "We're in."

XXX

Ella woke up to the strange sensation of swaying, but that can't be right she was on dry land right? Land didn't move like this, land didn't move period. "Huh?"

"Oh so you're awake."

She sat up and turned to the voice. "Here," Magnus smiled at her, "this is some of the food the merchants gave us. I'm sure you're hungry."

Understatement of the century, she was ravenous. Ella attacked her food and in between really large bites she managed a questioning, "merchants?"

"That's right!" Ella nearly choked on a mouthful of food as a strange creature's head popped through the front curtain. "I am Janero! The Shadow Merchant King of the Shadow Merchant Crew!" "I'm Tonero!" "I'm Romero!" "I"m Gallero!" "and this is Mayala!"

"Do you really do that to everyone you meet?" Magnus muttered irritatedly.

"Only the interesting ones!" Janero cackled.

"Oi, keep your eyes on the road!" Traian said feebly.

Ella leaned over towards Magnus. "What's wrong with him?"

"Wagonsick, poor guy."

"Hope he gets better."

"Doubt it, there's still six more hours til we get to Helisium."

"Helisium?" Ella gasped, "We're going to Helisium?"

"Yeah." Magnus smiled, "I can't wait. I can see it, I can see a better life, another chance. A better hope for the future."

* * *

A/N: So I felt bad for going so long without an update since the last chapter, so here's a quickie. I was going to make this the chapter where the crew gets to meet the pantheon cast, but then Janero came up. Janero is the shadow merchant crew's dad, as all of them are apparently related, or close enough that they feel like they're related so I figured that I'd give them a single parent figure. Tonero and Romero are really flamboyant when you meet them, that had to have come from somewhere right? And since there seems to be a theme naming thing going on in game, with all the shadow crew named _ero, I figured why not. Janero will likely be the most significant OC (if you don't count Traian and Ella as OCs) and really doesn't show up. He does however, pop up when least expected and change quite a bit.


End file.
